


By Your Side

by runnerfangirl



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: s02e17 A Dark Reflection, Hurt Alec Lightwood, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Making Up, Possessive Magnus Bane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 06:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11914785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runnerfangirl/pseuds/runnerfangirl
Summary: Even though this was no excuse for lying to the Downworld leaders, Alec had always feared that if the Downworld knew about the Soul Sword, they would try and rebel against the Clave. He was aware that if something like that happened, Shadowhunters would get injured along the way; but he had never thought that he would be the one to get hurt.





	By Your Side

**Author's Note:**

> I've never thought this fic would be so long, woah... I actually wanted to write something like this after the break up, but then, I realized it would be hard to fit this in the middle of everything going on with Sebastian turning out to be Jonathan. Also, this is the first time I wrote a fighting scene that long, so feel free to point out any mistakes.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

Alec knew what he was doing was reckless. He knew that the second Izzy and Jace noticed him missing, they’d be tracking him. And after they found Alec walking down the streets of New York, patrolling by himself, they’d pester him non-stop for hours until he apologized.

But his mind was too busy trying to keep the glittery warlock out of his thoughts to dwell on the facts.

He couldn’t care less at the moment, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t been on any patrols alone before. The only difference this time was that no one knew where he was going, or even, what he was doing. He’d be fine, though. He had already looked for any demonic activity around the city, he wasn’t going to face with a nest of demons unexpectedly. He would probably turn back to the Institute before his siblings had the time to worry about him, and he could lie and say that he was just taking a walk around.

He didn’t, however, consider some brutal Downworlders attacking him.

When something pulled Alec into the dark alley he was passing, his instant thought was: Demon!

As it scrambled to grab his shoulders, he quickly reached out for the blade strapped to his thigh holster and it activated with a blinding white light in his hands. Seraph blades weren’t Alec’s first choice of weapon, he was more comfortable with the weight of his quiver strapped to his back and his bow in his hands. But they were weapons for long-distance fights, he was depending on his blade for now.

Alec swung his hand back and tried to slash the demon that was pulling him deeper into the alley. He heard someone scream in pain. When he turned to face his attacker, he realized it wasn’t a demon like he had though and the scream belonged to _her_.

With the seraph blade’s light illuminating her face, a werewolf stood before Alec, clutching her side where the Shadowhunter had managed to wound her while fighting.

“What?” Alec muttered in confusion. The pained expression on the werewolf’s face turned into a snarl and she tried to jump on Alec to bring him down. The Shadowhunter blocked her attack by dodging to his right, trying to decide whether he should use his seraph blade or not.

Alec knew that Shadowhunters had the right to attack the vicious Downworlders when they threatened others, but he still had his doubts. It wasn’t even more than two weeks ago, he was hosting a Downworld Cabinet meeting at the Institute. He was trying to do everything within his power to mend the relationship between the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders. And killing a werewolf right now, no matter what his excuse was, would be another blow to his work. He had already made a mistake by not telling the leaders about the Soul Sword, he couldn’t risk another one.

Deciding to use his blade as the last option, Alec settled on dodging the werewolf’s attacks, ducking and sliding to escape her claws.

Alec had noticed that the girl was not attacking with fatal strikes. She was trying to punch and scratch the Shadowhunter, but even if Alec couldn’t block her hands, she wouldn’t have been able to wound him dramatically. The fighting style made him confused, but he decided to think about that later.

What Alec didn’t notice, however, was that the girl was slowly pushing him further down the alley where it was darker and the air was heavy with the smell of garbage. And when he finally realized how far he had gotten from the entrance of the alley, it was too late for him to run away.

Suddenly, in the midst of their fight, something hit Alec hard on his back and he lost his balance momentarily. His grip on the blade loosened and it dropped to the ground, losing its bright light. Alec lifted his fists in front of his face, ready to fight with anyone who came near him, but no other strike came to his way.

He looked around in confusion, his hands never leaving their defensive stance, and under the faint light of a broken street lamp, Alec finally realized what he had let himself pulled into.

The girl he had been fighting before was standing in front of him, a sly smirk playing on her lips, her eyes locked on Alec with humiliation flaring in them. The one who hit him on his back was another werewolf, and his eyes had the same look. There were four other Downworlders around him, forming a circle while trapping the Shadowhunter in the middle. It took a while for Alec, but when his eyes got used to the dim light, he realized that three of that Downworlders were vampires.

Three werewolves were surrounding him, still in their human forms but with their claws out; and three vampires were standing beside them, glaring at Alec with baring their sharp fangs. They were different people, from different kinds, with different pasts; but in common, they had the same look in their eyes.

The Downworlders were looking at Alec with anger and hatred, as if each and every one of them had a personal vendetta against him. There was also a hint of contempt in their features, like they were laughing at Alec inwardly, a kind of humiliation that a predator would have when it caught its prey.

With a striking realization, the Shadowhunter noticed that he was the prey. And so stupidly, he had gotten himself caught into their trap.

For a moment, he didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t sure if the Downworlders were going to attack him immediately or talk to him before doing so. His bow was still useless at this point. If they were going to engage into a fight, Alec had to grab his blade back from the ground while trying to avoid their attacks. He had a dagger tucked inside his boot, but it wouldn’t be enough for him to fight back with. So, grabbing his blade was a must. If the situation called for it, Alec could use his bow to block the punches; but it would only serve as a defense and if he wanted to get out of here, he had to attack back.

A small voice, at the back of his mind, was telling him to consider the relationship between Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Alec quieted it quickly. He was sure he could make Luke and Raphael understand. These werewolves and vampires were assaulting a Shadowhunter, even if it was another person they were trapping, Alec wouldn’t hesitate to kill them all.

“Well, well, well,” the werewolf girl started to talk, pulling Alec away from his thoughts. With the way she was carrying herself and speaking with so much confidence, Alec guessed she was the leader of the Downworlders’ small group, or at least the one who gathered them all. “Isn’t this the precious leader of the New York Institute? What are you doing alone at this time of the night, Shadowhunter?”

Alec gritted his teeth. The way she was speaking as if Alec was a child was not helping him to settle down his nerves and contain his anger. “What do you want?”

“Oh, I think you might have an idea on what we want, huh?” She stepped forward, walking around Alec in a smaller circle. The second she moved, Alec decided to run towards the entrance of the alley while she created a gap between the other two vampires standing next to her; but before he could move a muscle, the vampires stepped closer and blocked Alec’s way once again.

“Do you want to kidnap a Shadowhunter? Pull one into a trap, while it’s against the Accords-”

Alec couldn’t let them attack first. He was outnumbered, and if they got the first blow, he might never manage to escape from them. He had to be the first, and use that moment of surprise as he made a dash.

“No… No, of course not. How dare we go against the Accords?” With sarcasm filling her voice, she let out a snicker. “We just simply want to show the Clave how tired we are of their lies. They keep deceiving us, making promises that they do not intent to keep. And you’re talking about breaking the Accords? When has the Accords ever been useful to us?!”

“Look,” Alec started, trying to reason with her. “I know the Clave haven’t been equal or transparent to the Downworlders, but you can’t blame their faults on all the other Shadowhunters. That’s what I’m trying to change. Even if the Clave is not willing to approve it, I, for one, try to fix our bonds with the Downworlders; because the war is coming, and the only way we could win is to be on the same side.”

“Huh,” The werewolf stopped in front of Alec, looking at him with an accusing glare. “You’re one to talk! Aren’t you the one who lied about the Soul Sword? It has been in the possession of Valentine all along, and you couldn’t even bother to tell the Downworld about it. How dare you speak about transparency or fixing the bonds between us?! It doesn’t matter who you are, the Head of the Institute or the madman who is trying to kill us all, Shadowhunters are all the same.”

“What? No. I’m not Valentine, and neither am I your enemy.” Alec heard the werewolves growl and the vampires snarl at his words. He inhaled a deep breath, he had to choose his words carefully. “Look, I had just learnt about the Soul Sword before Luke Garroway knew about it. I was going to tell your leaders about the Sword, and I was planning to hold another meeting; but they just found out before I could. I wasn’t lying to anyone, I was just waiting for the time to tell-”

“The time? You were waiting for _the time_? What made you think that you had any time to tell us about the Soul Sword before Valentine killed us all?”

“Valentine cannot kill any Downworlder with the Soul Sword.” Alec could tell that the werewolf’s patience was coming to an end, he had to act fast. “Clary Fairchild deactivated it before Valentine could get-”

“Enough!” The girl dashed towards Alec, and the Shadowhunter could only dodge her with a spare second. “The Shadowhunters keep lying, and they will never stop lying! You are all the same!” She flung her hand through air to claw at Alec’s chest, as he took a step back to avoid being hit. “It was all your fault, anyways! If you could actually manage one thing and prevent Valentine's escape from your Institute, he would have never got to be a threat again! Downworlders keep dying because of Shadowhunters,” She glared at Alec, and her voice turned into a deathly growl as she continued. “Now, it’s time for Shadowhunters to die for Downworlders!”

As the six Downworlders jumped on the Shadowhunter in a race to get to kill him first, Alec threw himself to the floor and rolled over to get to the blade he had dropped before. Once in his hands, the blade shined brighter with white light, causing the vampires to take a few steps back while shutting their eyes. Alec used this moment to stab the one closest to him, and the second he ran the blade through the vampire’s chest, he burst into flames and turned to ash. The other vampires let out a shriek and jumped on Alec, not caring anymore if the blade’s light was hurting their eyes.

Soon, Alec couldn’t even figure out who he was fighting against. He was acting on his instincts, kicking the ones that got too close to him, swinging his blade around to slash their arms and chests. He knew he had killed another vampire at one point, because after he got to cut someone’s abdomen, they turned to ash. He had also slashed a werewolf’s thigh and it was enough to keep him out of the fight for a while; but as soon as he healed, Alec was again fighting with three werewolves and a vampire.

He had gotten a few wounds, too. There were scratches along his forearms, chest and back, but none of them was serious enough to restrain him from fighting. He was getting tired, though. He was all alone fighting against four Downworlders, who were actually good at fighting, and it wasn’t an easy task to handle. He knew his Iratze had already burned out while healing the cuts he had received, and his speed and stamina runes were slowly fading because of exerting his body. For a small second, Alec regretted not telling Izzy or Jace where he was going, but he quickly pushed the thought away. He had already done this mistake, it wasn’t the time to think about it.

When she got too close to him, Alec kicked the leader werewolf’s shins, causing her to fall down in front of the Shadowhunter. The second her knees hit the ground, Alec didn’t even think about it before he thrust the blade through her chest. He pulled his hand back and the werewolf’s lifeless body fell onto the ground.

Alec heard a cry of agony behind him and before he could turn back, something collided with his back, pushing him face down to the dirty floor. The sounds of bones shifting inside the body was the only warning Alec got before the werewolf fully turned into his wolf form and his long claws sank into Alec’s flesh.

The Shadowhunter let out a scream when the white hot pain flared up on his shoulders, radiating to the rest of his body. He sucked in a deep breath to restrain himself from letting another cry out, and when the werewolf’s claws finally left his body, he used his few precious seconds to turn around on the ground and throw the wolf away from his body. His hands scrambled on the floor to grab a hold of his blade which he had dropped when he had fallen down, but before his fingers came anywhere close to the hilt of the blade, the last vampire was pinning his body to the ground.

Alec gritted his teeth as the pressure on the claw marks increased and his skin burned with pain. The vampire was pushing him down by his shoulders, sitting on the lower half of his body to keep him immobile. With a smirk on her lips, the vampire leaned closer to Alec’s neck, ready to sink her fangs into his delicate skin. The Shadowhunter tried to move around, to shake the vampire off of his body, but it was in vain. His body was too tired to fight back with enough power, and he was feeling dizzy because of hitting his head to the floor repeatedly.

With on last attempt, Alec tried to move his hands to reach to the dagger in his boot or to grab the seraph blade that was laying a foot away next to him, but he still couldn’t move an inch. He felt the vampire’s fangs graze his skin and Alec shut his eyes tightly, his body going limp as he accepted his fate.

Alec didn’t know what he was expecting, but at the brink of death, he didn’t see the faces of the ones he loved, like other people described it. Instead, it was the mistakes he had made that he saw, making him fear death because he wouldn’t have any more time to fix them.

His parents’ disappointed looks appeared before his closed eyelids. The angry glares he had gotten through his life when he didn’t train enough, when he couldn’t shoot his arrows properly, when he failed to run the Institute, when he _kissed that warlock in his wedding to another person and disgraced their family name._

Then, Clary’s tear-stained face took their place, when she was crying her eyes out at her mother’s funeral. And Alec couldn’t do anything to fix his mistake, because Jocelyn was dead, and even when they visited Iris Rouse, Alec hadn’t been able to protect Clary. Images flashed in between the memory of the funeral: Alec sitting on the ground with Jocelyn’s blood coating his hands, her blood soaking his clothes, Clary’s face when she saw her mother lying lifelessly on the floor with a hole through her chest…

And then, there was Magnus.

Appearing before his eyes was the memory of Magnus when Alec asked him how to fix this, and he just shook his head in acceptance. Because Alec had hurt him more than anyone can imagine, and there was nothing he could do to _fix this_.

And after that, the look on Magnus’ face when he confronted Alec about the Soul Sword. Hurt and disappointment flashing through his eyes before rage repressed his feelings and Magnus’ beautiful eyes suddenly turned cold. Weeks after the incident with Azazel, they were finally building back the trust between them; but because of Alec, it had crumbled before even settling on a firm ground. Alec could pinpoint the exact second Magnus started to rebuild the stone walls around his heart, the exact walls the Shadowhunter had managed to sneak his way through once upon a time. But this time, Alec knew they were guarded better; because after a century of protecting his heart from any heartbreak, Alec managed to lower Magnus’ guards, only to leave him heartbroken at the end.

It was probably the biggest mistake Alec had ever made in his life. After Magnus had made him so, so happy, he only caused him sadness and pain. And now, Alec was going to die in the hands of a few brutal Downworlders without being given the chance to fix his mistakes.

Alec had heard the rumors that after getting used to it, getting bitten by a vampire was actually a pleasurable thing. But when the vampire that was biting you was probably planning hundred different ways to kill you with making you suffer, it was anything but pleasurable.

 The Shadowhunter let out a deafening scream when the vampire sank her fangs into his neck. His limp body started to struggle under her grip once again, but it only caused the vampire’s sharp teeth pierce his skin more and he felt hot blood drip from his neck to the ground steadily.

It wasn’t long before Alec was feeling dizzier than ever and white spots were appearing behind his eyelids. His body was slowly draining from energy along with blood, his last will to fight back dissolving in the back of his mind. He knew that if the vampire decided to stab him right then and there, he wouldn’t be able to fight back. If one of the werewolves tried to attack him while he was pinned under the vampire, he wouldn’t be able to block any of their blows.

He was dying, he had accepted it. But there were still so much he had to do, so many mistakes to fix…

The crack of a familiar whip caused Alec to open his eyes. (Which wasn’t really helpful since his vision was blurry, anyways.) But at least, his hearing was better than the mess of colors he was seeing.

“Alec!” He heard someone shout, and the second the voice echoed in his ears the Shadowhunter recognized his _parabatai_. Izzy’s whip crackled again, and in an instant, the vampire was no longer sitting on him. However, since his sister had pushed the vampire off of him while her fangs were still deep in his neck, it caused the vampire to tear the muscle of his neck with her teeth and Alec couldn’t help the cry of pain leaving his mouth. Blood was now flowing out from his wounds, which was something he dismissed as he tried to stand up to help his siblings fight; but he couldn’t move any of his limbs, he couldn’t even turn his head to the side without shouting in pain.

Alec lost the track of time. His siblings’ shouts were mixing with the sound of fighting and he could hear a constant buzzing in his head. His vision was no better, and if anything, it seemed like it was getting even blurrier with more white spots appearing in it.

Then suddenly, there was silence.

The only think that could be heard in the dark alley was painful wheezing and Alec wasn’t aware that the sound was coming from him. His ears were ringing, and his eyes weren’t seeing even if they were open.  He didn’t notice when Izzy and Jace rushed to his side and kneeled beside him. He didn’t feel the burn of runes when they activated them on his body, drawing some new ones. He didn’t hear their frantic voices as they assured Alec that he was going to be fine, that everything was going to be okay.

His senses were dulled. He was barely conscious. He felt like he was dying, and maybe he was.

Alec’s head lolled to the side and darkness pulled him under.

 

“Jace! The runes are not working fast enough,” shouted Isabelle to her adopted brother. “We have to get him to the Institute, now! Or he’ll lose too much blood.”

“I know, I know…” Jace mumbled back, hundreds of thoughts swirling around in his head. His hand was shaking while drawing runes on Alec’s body. He was thinking of ways to carry him back to the Institute when the idea struck him.

“Clary!” He shouted to the girl who had been standing behind Izzy and Jace to give them enough space to heal Alec. “Do you think you can use that portal rune again?”

He turned his head to the red-haired girl for only a second, but it was enough for him to see her doubt. “I-I..” Clary looked at Alec’s pale face before she nodded her head stubbornly. “Yes.”

“Hurry!” Izzy shouted back and let out a frustrated cry when the newly drawn Iratze on Alec’s forearm disappeared in seconds. “The runes are not working. Jace! Why aren’t the runes working?!”

“I’m not sure, Izzy,” Jace replied back. “Maybe the wound on his back is too deep to heal with only runes.”

They hadn’t dared to move Alec’s body, fearing that it would accelerate his blood loss, thus Jace haven’t seen his back yet. But if the pool of blood around him was anything to go by, he would say that they didn’t have much more time to save their brother.

“The portal is open, come on!” The second Jace heard Clary shout, he and Izzy kneeled down to the either side of Alec and grabbed his shoulders to carry him through the portal. They half carried, half dragged him towards the portal, and Jace thought of the Institute’s infirmary before he stepped in.

“We need medics!” Isabelle’s voice echoed through the room and down the hall as they placed Alec on one of the beds. Jace cut his shirt down the middle to pull it off and exposed Alec’s chest. It didn’t seem like he had any critical wounds on his torso. The blonde Shadowhunter decided to deal with the smaller cuts later, and turned his _parabatai’s_ body around the bed to lay him down on his stomach.

He sucked in a sharp breath and somewhere in the infirmary, he heard Izzy gasp in terror.

The wounds seemed to be the worst ones Alec had ever got through his life. Six parallel, deep cuts were covering his whole back, starting from his shoulders, down to his hips. Blood was coating every inch of his skin and was still flowing out from the wounds swiftly. Where visible, Jace could see Alec’s skin turning even paler, almost matching with the color of pure-white sheets on the bed.

“We…” Jace swallowed to get rid of the lump in his throat. “We have to be quick, Izzy.”

“Yeah, okay,” she replied in a small voice, and in seconds, she was on the other side of Alec’s bed. The girl grabbed a clean cloth and a bowl of water, and reached them out to Jace, who instantly started to clean his brother’s back.

His world turned into a mess of colors as he focused on the wounds on Alec’s back. He could hear Izzy shouting orders to the medics, but it felt like cotton was stuffed into his ears. Everything he was hearing was muffled, he couldn’t concentrate on them.

His brother, his _parabatai_ was lying before him at the brink of death. Even though he had been feeling Alec’s pain through their bond before, now the bond was just numb, and it was scaring him more than pain he had felt. He could almost feel Alec slipping away, their bond getting weaker and weaker as the seconds passed. Jace didn’t know what he would do if it finally snapped, if he lost the other half of his soul, if a part of him died.

When the medics left Alec’s side and silence filled the whole room, Jace was still kneeling beside the bed, his _parabatai_ ’s hand clutched tightly in his. He slowly lifted his gaze from Alec’s back which was covered in bandages, and turned to Isabelle who was still at the other side of the bed. Jace was aware of the unspoken fact and he knew Izzy was, too. Alec’s condition was no better than the time they had brought him to the Institute. The runes were not helping enough to heal such a fatal wound after that much blood loss, but they didn’t know what else to do. They could have asked for help from the Silent Brothers, but not even they would be fast enough to heal Alec in time. There was only one option left for them to try.

“Izzy,” Jace called out with a hoarse voice. The girl raised her head to look at him, blinking away the tears in her eyes. “We need to call Magnus.”

Isabelle turned her gaze back to her brother and exhaled a shaky breath. “Alec will be so pissed when he learns we called him.”

Both of them knew that the things between Magnus and Alec were shaky after the Soul Sword, and the Shadowhunter was so carefully trying to avoid the warlock, scared that it would make him more annoyed. Also, the relationship between them and the Downworlders were hanging on a thin rope, so maybe asking for help wasn’t the best decision they had. But Jace couldn’t care less about the politics. He’d go through the hell and back if it would save his _parabatai_.

“He could be pissed all he wants if he… _when_ he survives this.”

Isabelle gave him a sharp nod and looked straight into his eyes. “Call him.”

 

Magnus was just back from another meeting in the Seelie Court when his phone rang. He accepted the call without checking the ID and hoped that his voice didn’t give away how tired he was.

“Hello?”

“Magnus, it’s Jace.” Magnus grimaced as soon as he heard his voice. He really didn’t want to deal with Shadowhunters right now.

“What do you want?” The warlock’s voice quickly turned into a grunt.

“We-We need you. You have to come to the Institute.”

“ _I have to_? And who are you to tell me what I am going to do-”

“It’s Alec!” The second Jace shouted through the phone, Magnus felt his stone-cold mask crumble.

“What?” He whispered in disbelief. “What happened? Is he okay-”

Without even seeing him, the warlock knew that Jace was rolling his eyes. “He is not, Magnus, and you are the only one who can help him. Now, are you coming or not?”

Magnus flicked his wrist and summoned a portal in the middle of his bedroom. “I’m on my way.”

“Be quick.” There was a little pause and Magnus heard Jace talking to someone before he continued. “And you know what, bring Luke and Raphael with you.”

“Why-” The Shadowhunter hung up the phone in the middle of his question, causing Magnus to huff in annoyance. He quickly sent a text to Luke and Raphael to inform them about meeting at the Institute and stepped into the portal.

When Magnus appeared in front of the steps of the old church, Raphael was already waiting for him. He raised his eyebrow in a silent question, but the vampire only shrugged as an answer. He guessed it had something to do with vampire speed.

It wasn’t long before Luke joined them, too, and a few seconds later the doors burst open as Isabelle Lightwood came into their views. She only nodded at them as a greeting, then she grabbed Magnus’ arm, dragging him behind her into the Institute. “Come on, we have to hurry.”

From the corner of his eye, Magnus saw Luke and Raphael give each other confused glances and he was ready to ask Isabelle what the hell was going on. But then, they entered to the infirmary, and Magnus felt like the air was sucked out of the room.

Right in front of him was the love of his life, lying on a bed with the sheets turned into deep crimson. He was on his stomach, but even from the spot he stood, Magnus could see him taking in ragged breaths. His whole back was covered in bandages which were dark red instead of white because of the blood soaking them. He had at least a dozen of healing runes drawn on his skin, but from the look of it, Magnus guessed that they weren’t working.

“Oh, Alexander…” The warlock whispered, and he wasn’t surprised to find tears burning his eyes. In two long strides, he was standing next to Jace beside the bed. He opened his mouth to speak, but he let out a shaky breath instead of words.

“What happened to him?” He heard Luke ask the question bugging everyone’s minds.

“We’re not entirely sure,” Izzy spoke. Jace seemed to be not aware of their presence. “We didn’t know Alec was out by himself, until Jace doubled over in pain. After we tracked his rune, we found him deep in an alley, fighting with… _Downworlders_.”

“What? You’re saying that Downworlders did that to-”

Magnus caused Luke to stop in the middle of his sentence by slowly peeling off the bandages across Alec’s back. Even with the blood smeared around him, six claw marks were standing on his pale skin, plain as day. Silence fell over the room as Magnus continued to lift the bandages off from the Shadowhunter’s skin and exposed his wounds fully.

“Werewolves?” whispered Magnus out, but he barely registered Jace’s nod next to him.

“Luke,” called out Izzy. “We were wondering if there is a chance that… that he would turn into a werewolf?”

Luke thought about it without lifting his eyes from the claw marks. “Was he bitten?”

“No,” Jace answered for the first time that day, anger coating his every word. “Not by a werewolf.”

Magnus threw a confused glance to his way. “What do you mean ‘not by a werewolf’?”

Instead of a verbal answer, Jace stood up from where he was sitting and walked to the other side of the bed. Magnus noticed him looking at Alec with eyes full of sorrow, before his hand reached out to his _parabatai_ ’s neck and took off the bandage wrapped to the side of his neck.

“Vampires…” Raphael snarled, voicing out what Magnus was afraid to think of.

Another wave of silence filled the room. Luke broke it by answering the previous question. “No, he won’t turn into a werewolf if he’s not bitten by one.”

Izzy nodded at Luke, sighing in relief before she turned to Magnus. “We tried every kind of healing rune, but they are not working fast enough. You have to heal him, Magnus, please.”

The warlock sniffled and wiped the tears that were falling down his cheeks with the back of his hand. He nodded firmly, pushing the sleeves of his shirt back, getting ready to summon his magic.

Magnus wasn’t going to give up on Alec, right now. He _couldn’t_ give up on Alec, not now, not ever. Especially not when their last encounter was a fight where Magnus accused Alec for not being honest and acting like his parent, while he was nothing like Maryse or Robert.

If he had a wild guess, Magnus would say that the werewolves and vampires attacked his Shadowhunter because of the Soul Sword. The secret was out now, and everybody from the Downworld knew how Clave lied to them once again. Magnus had heard the rumors where people said that some brutal Downworlders were trying to rebel against the Clave, but the warlock have always heard these kind of rumors through his life. He had never thought that it would come to this. He could have never guessed that the rumors will come true, and they would attack a Shadowhunter, the Head of the Institute, _his_ boyfriend.

He might have had a fight with Alec, but Magnus was nowhere near ready to leave him. He just needed some time to deal with his feeling and calm his anger before they tried to build their trust back. Alec was still _his_ , and whoever made this to him will wish they hadn’t even dared to glance at Alec.

The Shadowhunter let out a shout, and suddenly his back arched from the bed as Magnus’ magic covered his wounds. The warlock gritted his teeth and tried to see past his emotions to focus on his job and heal Alec. With every cry of pain Alec was letting out, his heart was breaking more and more, and the anger he felt was increasing; but it wasn’t only directed to the Downworlders who attacked his lover. It was also directed to himself because even though it wasn’t anything physical, Magnus had hurt Alec as much as they did when he had thrown snide comments at him about the Soul Sword; and this was what Alec had feared all along: Downworlders causing an uprising, attacking without thinking, killing Shadowhunters for revenge at the verge of a war.

Magnus pushed the thought away as he poured his magic into Alec’s wounds. Thinking was only serving as a distraction, and he couldn’t risk being distracted. Slowly, the skin on Alec’s back started to knit itself back together. Magnus shut his eyes tightly as his hands started to tremble, but he couldn’t stop. Alec was still in danger, and he wouldn’t stop until he was stable.

When Magnus finished, there were six long and thick scars across Alec’s back. His skin was slowly gaining back its color, and the raised skin of scars was turning pink instead of pale white. Alec’s breathing was obviously more regular now, and he had fallen silent as soon as Magnus cut off his magic.

Cautiously, the warlock walked around the bed, as if Alec would wake up the second someone broke the silence in the room. He kneeled at the foot of the bed, near the Shadowhunter’s head. He raised a trembling head up to Alec’s face and so softly, he rested his palm against the boy’s cheek.

“My Alexander,” he whispered, his voice only loud enough for Alec’s ears. “What had happened to you?” He peeled off the rest of the bandage around his throat. With a snap of his fingers, Magnus made blue magic appear in his palm, shining sparks twirling between his fingers. He let his magic heal Alec’s body, knitting the skin where the vampire’s fangs tore the muscle.

After Magnus finished healing Alec’s neck too, he snapped his fingers once again and both Alec’s body and the sheets beneath him were clean of blood. He was about to take a deep breath since the Shadowhunter was now fully healed, but then, the newly soaked crimson sheets caught his eyes. The warlock’s head snapped towards the other two Shadowhunters in the room, disbelief and horror written in his eyes.

“Does he have more wounds?!”

As Isabelle dropped her head low, staring at the floor, Jace nodded and walked beside Magnus. Gently, he grabbed Alec’s shoulders and turned him around the bed to lay him on his back. As soon as Magnus’ eyes landed on the cuts peppering Alec’s torso, a possessive growl escaped his lips involuntarily.

“I am going to kill whoever did this to _my_ Shadowhunter.”

“You can’t,” the warlock heard Jace say, and turned to look at him with anger blazing in his eyes.

“What do you mean _I can’t_? If this is one of your stupid laws, I swear-”

“It’s not the laws, Magnus,” said Isabelle, and Magnus only recognized her presence when she squeezed his shoulder in comfort. “They’re already dead.”

Magnus was angry beyond imagination, and he had plenty reasons to be so. He was angry at himself because he had hurt Alec so much, and if he… if he hadn’t survived, the Shadowhunter would have died thinking Magnus was hating him for lying. He was angry at the Downworlders for daring to lay a finger on his Alexander. He was angry at Isabelle and Jace for killing those Downworlders, because at the moment, it felt like making them regret their every single action was the only way for Magnus to get his frustration out.

He clenched his teeth and summoned his magic for the umpteenth time that night to heal Alexander, using the last bit of his energy to clean his cuts and scrapes, and knit the skin back together.

Magnus was swaying on his feet when he was done, and it looked like he was the only one who wasn’t aware of his condition. Before he could collapse to the floor from exhaustion, Isabelle pulled a chair next to Alec’s bed and helped him sit without falling. Since his magic was depleted, Magnus settled in grabbing a clean cloth to wipe the blood off of the boy’s torso, gently running the fabric around his newly-healed cuts.

“Try using the runes, now,” he said with a sleepy voice and in an instant, the two siblings were standing next to the bed, pulling out their steles.

He wasn’t aware how much time passed, but when his eyes finally left Alec’s body to look around the room, he was surprised not to see Luke and Raphael there. Jace and Isabelle were sitting on the other side of the bed, never leaving their brother as he recovered. Magnus raised an eyebrow in question and tilted his head to the side where the other Downworld leaders had been standing.

“The sun is about to rise, so Raphael left, and Luke said they will come back again when Alec wakes up.”

The warlock only nodded weakly and reached out to grab Alec’s hand in his. He brought their intertwined fingers to his mouth and gingerly placed kisses to the boy’s knuckles, murmuring a healing incantation against the scrapes on the back of his hand. As exhaustion slowly caught up with him, Magnus’ eyes started to drop and he placed his head on the pillow, right next to Alec’s. He tilted his head slightly and left a chaste kiss to the boy’s cheek. His eyes closed and Magnus dozed off to sleep, hoping Alec would open his beautiful hazel eyes when he woke up.

 

When Alec opened his eyes, he was sure he had died. Of course, being in the Institute’s infirmary with some medics running around would be a good explanation that he wasn’t actually dead, but he wasn’t focusing on those facts. Instead, his eyes were drawn to the beautiful man sitting next to his bed on an uncomfortable looking chair, fully concentrating on a book he was reading with a furrow on his face. Alec was pretty sure that after their last encounter, he wanted nothing to do with the Shadowhunter. So, he couldn’t think of any reason why the warlock would be sitting in the infirmary with him, unless he was dead.

“Mags?” Alec whispered out and hoped his voice was loud enough for him to hear. Thankfully, Magnus’ head snapped up the second Alec said his name and in seconds, his book was thrown somewhere across the room and the warlock was now standing beside the bed, looking over Alec’s body for any kind of injury.

“Yes, darling?” Alec ignored the painful pang in his chest when he heard the endearment.

“Why are you here?” For a millisecond, hurt crossed over Magnus’ face, but he quickly concealed it with a sad smile.

“Well, it seemed like you couldn’t even wait for a week without me having to save your perfect ass.”

“Oh,” was the only thing Alec could let out before memories rushed into his brain. “I… Uh…” He tried to sit on the bed, but was immediately stopped by Magnus’ hands on his shoulders.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You have serious injuries on your back.” Magnus voice was soft, but full with concern. He only pulled his hands back when Alec nodded in understanding.

“I’m sorry if… if I caused you any trouble. Izzy and Jace shouldn’t have called you.”

“Alexander,” said Magnus in surprise, his brows furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about? You were this close to dying. How could I even ignore helping you?”

Alec shrugged, but instantly regretted the motion when it caused a burning sensation to spread down his shoulders. “Still… We shouldn’t have kept you from your work. I’m pretty sure you don’t-”

His words got cut off by Izzy barging into the infirmary with Jace quickly following after her step.

“Alec!” she shouted and threw herself to hug Alec. The hazel-eyed Shadowhunter swallowed his grunt of pain and hugged his sister back, even though just moving his hands were hurting his body all over.

“I’m alright, Izzy.” He patted her back in what he hoped to be a soothing manner.

“No, you’re not! I almost lost you, big brother. Do you even know how scared I was?”

He smiled sadly against her raven hair. “I’m sorry.”

When Izzy pulled back, Alec tried to get his body ready for another round of hug, but thankfully, Jace seemed to be aware that it was only hurting him more. His _parabatai_ settled in squeezing his hand with a gentle grip and Alec could feel the relief flooding in Jace through their bond.

“I know you probably need to rest,” said Jace with uncertainty coating his voice. “And it is totally fine if you need to sleep. It’s just… Raphael and Luke are here to hear what had happened, so they can talk to their vampire clan and werewolf pack about it.”

“It’s fine, they can come. Just bring me a clean shirt and help me sit before, though.”

“Sure.” Jace moved to get a shirt from Alec’s room, but he was stopped by Magnus’ voice.

“I can handle it.” With a snap of fingers, a navy blue shirt appeared on the boy’s naked chest, hiding the bandages wrapped around his torso. Then, Isabelle stepped closer to his bed and helped Magnus as they lifted Alec’s back on the bed, putting him into a sitting position and fluffing the pillows behind his back.

“Thanks,” muttered Alec and sent a small smile to Magnus, still unsure how he should act around the warlock. It seemed like there were a lot of things Magnus wanted to say, but before he could even open his mouth, Luke and Raphael appeared at the infirmary’s door.

“Hey, how are you feeling, Alec?” asked Luke the second he saw Alec awake.

“I’m fine, thanks.” He tried to smile but even that seemed to hurt his muscles.

Raphael gave him a small nod as greeting, which Alec would have returned if it wasn’t for the bandage covering half of his neck. He tried to shake away the memories of how it had happened. “Did the werewolves and vampires do this to you?”

“Yeah, uh…” Unconsciously, Alec turned his gaze away from them. “Three werewolves and three vampires. A werewolf girl was the leader of them, I guess. She did most of the talking.”

“What talking?” Magnus inquired, still sitting next to his bed. Alec’s eyes turned to the warlock the second the words escaped his lips.

“That’s not really important. It’s just that they are really, really furious about Clave lying about the Soul Sword and want revenge from Shadowhunters. She said it’s time for… _for Shadowhunters to die for Downworlders_.”

Alec heard Isabelle gasp from across the room. “Oh, Angel…”

“Look,” The hazel-eyed Shadowhunter turned back to Luke and Raphael, hoping his voice would come out as firm as he wanted. He had to keep his authority as the Head of the Institute, injured or not. “I don’t know if they were from your werewolf pack or vampire clan, but you have to talk to your people. I can’t let any Shadowhunter die in the hands of some wild Downworlders, and if they keep hunting _us,_ it will lead to a war along with the one we’re already fighting against Valentine.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Luke’s voice was certain, unwavering. “I’ll make sure no one tries to lay a finger on any Shadowhunter.”

“I’ll speak with the vampires,” added Raphael. “They wouldn’t dare to do such thing again.”

Alec let out a sigh in relief. “Thank you.” The Downworlders both nodded, and in seconds, they were gone. He closed his eyes for a moment, hoping it would dull the ache in his body. (He was disappointed when it didn’t.)

“Does anyone from the Institute know what happened?” he asked, turning to look at Izzy and Jace.

“No,” answered his sister. “The medics probably assumed it was a demon attack and told the others so.”

Jace’s curious voice continued. “Are you going to tell them?”

“I don’t know,” murmured Alec.

“What?” The Shadowhunter grimaced when Jace’s voice came out too loud for his ears. The blond boy seemed to notice his mistake and looked at him in apology before he continued. “What do you mean _you don’t know_? The Shadowhunters should be ready for any kind of attack, Alec. You know that.”

“Of course, I know that. But I also know that if people learn about _this_ ,” He vaguely gestured his body with a wave of his hand. “Some Shadowhunters will start to kill innocent Downworlders and use it as an excuse. I can’t allow that, either.”

Jace let out a long breath and his shoulders sagged. “I know,” he admitted.

Silence covered the room and it was probably an uncomfortable one, but Alec was too tired to notice that. His eyes started to drop no matter how hard he tried to keep them open and his head tilted back.

“Hey,” Alec heard someone whisper. When he opened his eyes, he was looking into a pair of cat-like ones. “Let’s get you comfortable to sleep, hmm?”

“Mags,” the Shadowhunter whispered. He had totally forgotten that the warlock was in the infirmary. Alec realized that his siblings had left the room at some point. Suddenly, he felt like any trace of sleep had left his body. He pushed Magnus’ hands away when he tried to lay him down. “No, no… We have to talk… I think?”

“We can talk after you rest, Alexander.”

Stubbornly, Alec shook his head, trying to keep his face calm when the motion burned the side of his throat. “I missed it.”

“Missed what?” Magnus threw him a confused look.

“I missed you calling me Alexander. I missed talking to you, seeing you, kissing you. I missed hearing your voice. I missed _you_.” Alec placed a gentle hand against Magnus’ cheek, his thumb caressing the side of his eyes. “I even missed your pretty cat eyes.”

The warlock looked taken aback for a moment, as if he wasn’t aware of his unglamoured eyes. Then, a sad smile appeared on his lips. “I missed you, too, darling.”

“I’m sorry.” Alec’s hand dropped and his gaze turned away from Magnus, regret filling his eyes. “I know I should have told you about the Soul Sword, and I swear to the Angel, I was going to tell you. But it’s just-”

“Alexander…”

“I know this is not an excuse, but everything was becoming too much, and-”

“Alec.”

“I didn’t know how to tell you, but I was thinking of a way. Maybe hosting another Cabinet meeting or-”

“Darling!” Alec’s mouth snapped shut and he turned back to Magnus with wide eyes. “It’s okay, Alexander,” he continued with a soft voice. And Alec felt like he didn’t deserve Magnus’ forgiveness. What he did was wrong, terrible, irreversible… How could Magnus just forget about that and accept him back?

“No, it’s not, Magnus. I should-”

“Shh,” The warlock placed his finger in front of Alec’s lips, effectively quietening him. The Shadowhunter couldn’t help the fond smile appearing on his lips at the familiar gesture. “Listen to me without interrupting, okay?” Alec gave him a light nod.

“What you did was wrong, and we both know that. You should have told me about the Soul Sword sooner, yes.” Magnus’ eyes softened and he placed his hand against Alec’s cheek. “But it was just a mistake, and everyone make mistakes, Alexander. We shouldn’t have avoided it like we did. Instead, we should talk it through and learn from our mistakes to build our relationship on a firmer ground, yeah? You are allowed to make mistakes, darling. Don’t ever forget that. You’re still so young, but look at all the responsibilities you are carrying. You’re running the whole Institute by yourself, protecting your siblings, keeping up to strengthen the relationship between the Downworld and the Shadowhunters…

“And while you were carrying so much weight on your shoulders, I haven’t been fair to you. While I was questioning your trust for me, I didn’t trust you myself, not as your boyfriend nor as the representative of warlocks. And I’m so, so sorry for that, dear. I shouldn’t have let my anger get better of me, I should have thought before speaking. I hurt you as much as you did hurt me, and I have made my mistakes as much as you did yours. We are both to blame, but we can talk through it now… if you still want to.”

“Of course… Of course, I do.” Alec seemed hopeful and insecure at the same time. “But-But you told me that you counted on my honesty, and now, I just-”

“And now,” whispered Magnus. He brought his other hand to the other side of Alec’s face, cradling his cheeks inside his palms, resting his forehead against the Shadowhunter’s. “I know I can count on it more than ever, yeah?”

Alec’s eyes fluttered closed as Magnus’ breath ghosted over his face and he let a lopsided smile make appearance on his face. “Yeah,” he breathed out, and before Alec knew it, Magnus was kissing him right on his lips.

The kiss was short due to the injuries Alec got all over his body, but it was soft, warm and full with love; and Alec felt like he was finally at peace for the first time in weeks. There was no movement, no teeth or tongue involved, just press of lips against each other, and it was enough for both of them to melt into it.

When they parted Alec kept his eyes closed and let out a heavy sigh, as if the burden of the past days left his shoulders and he could breathe easier now. Without thinking the Shadowhunter shifted in the bed, ignoring Magnus’ protests, and lay down when there was enough space for the warlock.

“Do you think both of us can fit into this bed?”

“Well,” answered Magnus with a light grin. “We can find out, right now, darling. Can’t we?”

Gently, he moved to lie down next to Alec, bypassing the chance to tease the Shadowhunter about his flushed cheeks. When half of Magnus’ body didn’t fit into the bed and threatened him to fall right onto the floor, he snuggled closer to the Shadowhunter, letting him lie against his chest. Alec let out a grunt of pain when his sore back made contact with Magnus’ chest, but he shushed the warlock before he could let out an apology.

“It’s fine, Magnus. I’m fine. You healed me.” The Shadowhunter felt more then saw Magnus hesitantly nod. Before any of them could doze off into a peaceful sleep, Alec blurted out a question without thinking. It seemed like being attacked by Downworlders combined with fatigue threw your brain-to-mouth filter out of the window.

“These are going to leave ugly scars, aren’t they?”

It wasn’t like Shadowhunters were not used to have scars on their body. Everyone had them from fights, from battles, even from the runes. Sometimes, if the cuts and scrapes were healed quickly, there was a chance that they wouldn’t leave any scars behind; but with cuts that deep, Alec guessed he would have to live with six long lines across his back.

The Shadowhunter couldn’t repress the gasp of surprise leaving his lips when suddenly, he found himself eye-to-eye with the beautiful warlock lying behind him. Magnus had gripped Alec’s jaw gently to turn his head to himself and straightened in the bed slightly. His eyes were full with adoration and determination as he looked into the hazel irises right in front of him.

“No, Alexander. They are going to leave scars, but _there’s nothing ugly about you_.”

Alec let out a shaky breath and blinked rapidly when he felt tears burning the back of his eyes. “Magnus…” The words left his mind and the name of his boyfriend was the only thing he could let out. Magnus smiled softly at him and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. Then, he lay back onto the pillows, pulling Alec down with him.

“Sleep, now, angel.” Magnus nuzzled his nose into Alec’s jet-black locks. “You need to rest.”

“Stay?” asked the Shadowhunter with a whisper. He lifted his hand to intertwine his fingers with Magnus’ and rested their hands on his chest. He felt the warlock leave a kiss on his head and murmur against his hair before he fell into a peaceful sleep.

“Always, Alexander. I’ll always stay by your side.”


End file.
